The wait is over–Grimm returns tomorrow on NBC

It’s been almost four months since we last saw our favorite Friday night series, Grimm. And the show’s creators really kept us hanging. In the penultimate 2012 episode “To Protect and Serve Man,” Monroe caught Nick’s girlfriend Juliette kissing Nick’s boss in the spice shop and Monroe struggled in the last episode before the hiatus, “Season of the Hexenbiest,” with whether or not he should tell Nick and how he should reveal the bad news. The cause of all the problems in Portland is Adalind, back to stir up everyone again. Or worse. If it’s been too long to remember all that happened, now’s the time to caught up.

Much of the last episode revolved around Silas Weir Mitchell’s Monroe, who made our borg.com “Best of 2012” list. His innocence and angst with getting stuck between Nick and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) added some comic relief to the otherwise dark events. Nick and Juliette split after Monroe revealed to Nick (David Giuntoli) almost all that he knew and Juliette informed Nick she had feelings for another guy. Juliette ended up at Monroe’s, remembering a bit about the night she lost her memory. She’s tired of being left in the dark by everyone around her. Monroe responds, “The dark does have its bright side.”

Meanwhile Nick’s partner Hank (Russell Hornsby) is visited by the pure evil Adalind (Claire Coffee), his ex-girlfriend and the cause of Juliette’s amnesia and Renard and Juliette’s attraction to each other. Burnt once by Adalind, Nick won’t fall for her again. But just as she leaves, her minions beat Hank to a pulp, and we next see him battered in the hospital.

Adalind threatens Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz) with exposing him as a Grimm-world Royal as well as other secrets if he doesn’t get the mysterious “key” from Nick. Adalind continues her sickeningly sweet smiles and feigned friendliness as the ultimate manipulator. Renard pushes Nick to look toward Adalind as the murderer of her own mother, when in fact Nick’s mom killed her earlier in the season.

Nick learns about Hank and rushes to the hospital. At work, the guilty bad guy with a conscience, Captain Renard, asks Nick how he is doing, unsure of whether Juliette revealed to Nick anything about their attraction to each other. Nick has no idea about Renard.

Adalind intercepts Juliette as she leaves her home. Is Juliette done for? Not quite, as Adalind instead takes her to coffee to learn what she knows. Adalind has some kind of control over Juliette and Juliette answers all of Adalind’s prying questions. Nick tracks Adalind by Juliette’s phone and the police arrest Adalind, but not before Adalind learns of Nick’s aunt’s mysterious trailer. Monroe senses Hundjagers at Hank’s place and goes to the hotel where Adalind is staying with the Verrat thugs that hurt Hank. Monroe gets to deliver another great line: “I think the time for being careful is over.” Nick goes home to collect the key. In jail, Adalind reveals to Renard what she learned about the trailer, which Renard is then able to track down.

The thugs follow Monroe to a trailer park. Nick has chosen his weapon, a baseball bat-like mace. Monroe asks “Are we going to arrest them or what?” Nick answers “or what.” More great humor as Monroe is left to clean up the mess and ditch Nick’s weapon. Nick leaves Juliette and moves in with Monroe. And Monroe reveals what he’s been holding back–who it was who came into the spice shop with Juliette–Captain Renard. At the same time Renard finds Nick’s aunt’s trailer.

With the biggest secret of the series in its first two years–that police Captain Renard stands on the other side of good and evil from Nick–is now in the open. Will the series finally allow Nick to know Renard is the mysterious Royal? Will we learn why this key is so important? Will spice shop owner and Monroe’s girlfriend Rosalee (Bree Turner) finally return?